Longtime starting pitcher Kip Wells has retired, although he's hoping to remain in baseball now that his playing career is over, ESPN New York's Adam Rubin tweets. Wells was released by the Angels in May, and was considering retirement as of early July. The righty pitched parts of 12 seasons, suiting up with the White Sox, Pirates, Rangers, Cardinals, Rockies, Royals, Nationals, Reds and Padres, and posting a 4.71 ERA with 6.5 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 in 1,338 1/3 career innings.

The Nationals released catcher Kris Watts, according to Bill Ladson of MLB.com (via Twitter). Watts, 29, hit just .211/.342/.328 in 43 Triple-A games this year. The former 16th-round pick is a career .250/.351/.372 hitter in 2,006 career minor league plate appearances between the Nationals and Pirates organizations.

The Orioles announced that infielder Alex Liddi cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A. Liddi was acquired from the Mariners along with a No. 3 international bonus slot for the M's No. 2 int'l slot. Baltimore designated the 25-year-old for assignment last week to make a 40-man roster spot for Chris Dickerson.

Five years ago today, the Athletics traded Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin to the Cubs for Josh Donaldson, Sean Gallagher, Matt Murton, and Eric Patterson. At the time, Gallagher was considered the centerpiece for Oakland, though Donaldson, an A ball catcher, had been drafted in the first round the year prior and had promise despite offensive struggles to that point in '08. Donaldson reached the Majors as a catcher in 2010, but was moved back to third base and became the A's starter there last year. Now, after a huge first half, Donaldson had the honor of being snubbed for the All-Star team. Perhaps he'll find his way onto the roster as various players bow out. On to today's minor moves:

12-year MLB veteran Kip Wells is contemplating retirement, agent Burton Rocks tells MLBTR's Zach Links. Wells was released by the Angels in late May. He's looking for a minor league opportunity with a realistic shot of being brought up to contribute at the big league level. If nothing materializes by season's end, Wells is considering moving into the player development/scouting side of baseball. Wells was drafted by the White Sox in the first round in 1998; he posted a 3.43 ERA over 395 2/3 innings for the Pirates from 2002-03 and earned over $17MM in his career.

Red Sox infielder Jonathan Diaz was outrighted to Triple-A today, tweets Jenny Dell of NESN. The move brings the team's 40-man roster count down to 39. Diaz, 28, made his big league debut June 29th, starting at third base and popping out against Toronto's Esmil Rogers. He was hitting .242/.350/.341 in 220 Triple-A plate appearances. Diaz was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 12th round in '06, a dozen picks before the Angels snagged Jordan Walden.

Salt Lake Bees radio broadcaster Steve Klauke reports (on Twitter) that the Angels have released veteran Kip Wells to make room on the roster for the recently outrightedBilly Buckner. Wells, 36, had a 10.36 ERA, 3.3 K/9 and 8.1 BB/9 in 24 1/3 innings at Triple-A.

Reds assistant director of media relations Jamie Ramsey reports that the team has purchased the contract of 21-year-old outfielder Sebastian Elizalde from the Mexican League. In 147 career games in that league, Elizalde is a .301/.353/.450 hitter. He will report to extended Spring Training (Twitterlinks).

Dallas McPherson has signed a contract with the York Revolution of the Atlantic League, according to Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com (on Twitter). McPherson has a pair of 40-homer minor league campaigns under his belt and was once one of the best power prospects in baseball. He's hit just .241/.292/.446 as a Major Leaguer, however.

The Dodgers have signed catcher J.R. Towles to a minor league contract, tweets Ken Davidoff of the New York Post. The former top prospect is now 29 years old and has a .265/.361/.423 batting line in 223 career games at Triple-A. At the Major League level, he's just a .187/.267/.315 hitter in 484 plate appearances — all coming with the Astros. He last saw the bigs in 2011.

The Blue Jays have selected the contract of Triple-A Buffalo closer Neil Wagner, tweets MLBTR's Tim Dierkes. The Jays already had an open spot on their 40-man roster. The 29-year-old NDSU product has a 0.89 ERA with 32 strikeouts and eight walks in 20 1/3 frames at Buffalo this season.

The Angels have signed pitcher Kip Wells to a minor league deal, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). Heyman further tweets that the righty worked out for the team yesterday afternoon and had reached agreement by late last night.

Wells, who turns 36 soon, was reportedly in good form during the spring as he looked to catch on with a club. Once an established member of the Pirates' rotation who posted a 3.28 ERA over nearly 200 innings in 2003, Wells did not appear in a major league game in 2010 or 2011. Last year, he returned with the Padres and tossed 37 1/3 innings of 4.58 ERA baseball in seven starts.

For the last-place Angels, Wells provides options. The club's rotation has been a serious problem early on, and currently boasts MLB's third-highest composite ERA (per Fangraphs). It does not help that Jered Weaver will be on the DL for the next four to six weeks, leaving the Angels without their ace and straining their rotation depth.

Pitcher Bud Norris improved his stock after he beat the Rangers on Opening Day and he should bring the Astros a good haul between now and the trade deadline. One longtime National League adviser believes that the Rangers might be the team to scoop him up.

After unloading Aaron Harang in yesterday's trade with the Rockies, the Dodgers would still love to find a taker for Ted Lilly, who earns $12MM this year. However, there has been little to no interest in the veteran so far.

There aren't many people who think that the recently re-signed Jose Valverde can be the Tigers' closer, but could add to their mix in the bullpen. One AL evaluator feels that they have to move and get themselves a proven closer in a hurry.

Kip Wells, soon to be 36, is available and throwing 93 miles per hour, according to his agent, Burton Rocks. The veteran reliever made seven starts over the summer for the Padres last season.

Manager Dale Sveum is prepared for the possibility that the Cubs could be sellers again at the July 31st trade deadline, Carrie Muskat of MLB.com reports. Sveum said he hopes to be in contention but will understand if the team needs to re-focus on 2014. "If your team is out of it, to start building and getting a healthier organization, unfortunately or fortunately, that's part of the business," he said. Here are some more notes from around the National League…

Tom Singer of MLB.com explains that the Pirates would probably like to lock up core players such as Neil Walker and Pedro Alvarez. While Walker would presumably like to stay with the Pirates, his hometown team, retaining him will be expensive, as Singer outlines. Alvarez, a New York native, might like the idea of playing for the Yankees in Singer's view.

Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com hears that Kip Wells looked good throwing for Phillies people yesterday (Twitter link). Wells, who started seven games for the Padres last year, had good off-speed pitches, Heyman writes.

Adrian Gonzalez said that he couldn't be happier to be playing for the Dodgers, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register reports. "I'm really really happy and excited to be here and really excited about where the team is heading and what we have an opportunity to do here," Gonzalez said. The Dodgers acquired Gonzalez from the Red Sox in a blockbuster trade last August.

Earlier tonight, the Padres avoided arbitration with Chase Headley by agreeing to a one-year, $8.575MM deal. The third baseman is under team control through 2015 and General Manager Josh Byrnes started dialogue with Headley's representatives about a contract extension earlier this winter, writes MLB.com's Corey Brock. However, those talks have been tabled for now. "We couldn't frame it up where it made sense for both sides," Byrnes said. In today's poll, nearly 70% of MLBTR readers said that it would make sense to lock Headley up long-term. Here's more from around baseball..

The Dodgers, Blue Jays, Angels, Tigers, Orioles, Brewers, and Athletics were in Peoria, Arizona today to watch Kip Wells, Mark Lowe, and Ryan Rowland-Smith throw, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Wells, 35, made seven starts for the Padres last season and posted a 4.58 ERA with 20 walks and 19 strikeouts.

In a piece at ESPN Insider, Zachary Levine of Baseball Prospectus searches MLB rosters for some players who could be traded now that their salaries are essentially sunk costs. Luke Hochevar and Ted Lilly are among the players who make Levine's list.

MLBTR’s Ben Nicholson-Smith and Jason Martinez of MLB Depth Charts discussed the Rangers, the Indians and offseason qualifying offers on the latest edition of the Rosters & Rumblings Podcast. Click here to listen in. Here are some news items from around the baseball world…

The Mets are one of three teams interested in right-hander Kip Wells, reports MLB.com's Evan Drellich. Wells, 35, posted a 4.58 ERA, a 4.6 K/9 rate and a 4.8 BB/9 rate in seven starts for the Padres last season, the first time Wells had pitched in the Majors since 2009. Wells has pitched for nine different clubs over his 12-year career.

Nate Robertson is looking for a spot in a Major League training camp as a left-handed relief specialist, Robertson's agent Steve Canter tells Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link). The 35-year-old Robertson's last Major League appearance came in 2010 and he has spent the last two seasons pitching in the minors for the Mariners, Cubs and Blue Jays. Robertson could find success as a specialist given that he has held left-handed hitters to a .695 OPS over his nine-year career.

Mike Trout unsurprisingly headlines the list of the 25 best players under the age of 25 as compiled by ESPN's Keith Law. Trout and the other three players atop Law's list delivered a historically great performance that compares to the all-time best quartets of young hitters, as noted by ESPN's Dave Cameron. (An ESPN Insider subscription is required for both pieces.)

A total of 28 players — all with big league time under their belts — recently elected free agency after finishing the year in Triple-A. Here is the full list, courtesy of the International League and Pacific Coast League transaction pages…